1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to file naming formats, and more specifically to conversions between native file formats and resource locators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer networks have greatly improved business communications and operations. Email has become an indispensable tool to pass both information and files. Shared network storage of files has also allowed simplified group use of particular files, such as text documents and the like. However, in a shared setting it is very difficult for one person to actually reference a particular file for use by another person. A first difficulty is that the file or folder is specified in a native file format on the originator's computer, such as K:\\Shared\example.doc in a Windows system. The receiving party may have access to the file, as it is on a shared network volume, but may have it defined as the R: drive. Thus simply copying the full path will not work. In some systems, such as those using software from Simdesk, shared folders are designated as Folders Shared To Me and Folders Shared To Others, and these names are in the full pathname of the file. Therefore it is even more difficult to provide a reference as not just drive letters may be different but also at least one folder level as well. Foreign language issues provide further complications. When sharing between computers having different native file formats, such as those used with Linux or Apple operating systems, the complexities even further multiply.
One common way to solve these problems is for users to email documents to each other, but then version problems develop and significant disk space may be used by the multiple copies. Another way to address the issue is to strictly enforce drive and folder naming conventions, but that cannot address many issues, such as different native formats, foreign languages and mirrored folder names as in the Simdesk system. It is desirable to have some technique to simplify these problems and allow users to simply paste information into emails or files to allow any recipient having access to the shared file to be able to access the file by just clicking on the information.